Skywater — Melinda Worth Popham

“Brand X and his fellow coyotes . . . are meticulously observed in the desert environment that Ms. Popham seems to know like her backyard. And so are the people of this fable -- old Hallie and Albert . . . and the several varmint-hunters, callous or alcoholic or both. There is a parable of how we might relate to the creatures that share the world with us; and a parable of dreams versus realty; and a parable of home, of known territory with its comparative safety; and a parable of making the best of a world short of everything. The people and the creatures of Ms. Popham's fable are right, they belong, and they mean.” -- Wallace Stegner
 
“This spare and affecting novel has the precision and the stinging sweetness of a fable. A wonderful book.” -- Thomas McGuane
 
“Refreshing . . . Life-affirming . . . The first book I've read in a long time that left me with teary eyes at the end.” -- The San Diego Tribune
 
“Captivating . . . The animals' arduous westward journey down the Colorado River to the Gulf suggests a coyote world view that is subtly sustained by their mysterious ways.” -- Publishers Weekly
 
“With dramatic urgency and imaginative tenderness, Melinda Popham has given the world a painful, poetic, and delightfully unpredictable story that pulsates with hope and healing meaning.” -- Al Young, California Poet Laureate Emeritus
 
“Rich with poetic resonance.” -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
 
“Evoking a rich sense of place and animal behavior, [Popham] lets us see through very different eyes.” -- The Seattle Times
 
“A daring and visionary tale. [Popham] dares to tell us what a coyote thinks and sees and feels and dreams. . . . A hero of the classic kind -- a furry, howling, water-seeking version of the Hero with a Thousand Faces.” -- James D. Houston
 
“Masterful . . . Astonishing . . . Remarkable . . . Put down the latest technothriller and bask awhile in the descriptive prose of Skywater.” -- L.A. Life